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Welcome to my little corner of what we here at StarCityGames.com like to call Future Sight Week!
Once again, the Powers That Be decided forgo a full card-by-card rundown. Instead, five different writers each got an assignment that fits right into their regular columns. For me, such an assignment is pretty hard, since I've not received many Future Sight questions at the regular mail address JeroenRemie@gmail.com... at least, not yet.
Instead, I am going to pick a bunch of cards that I feel are interesting to talk about, for both Limited and modern Constructed, and try and pre-empt the questions you guys might have.
This means I am not going to talk about the formats I don't know much about, such as Vintage - though I am aware this set is unreal when it comes to Magic's oldest format, with lots of new tricks and new toys. I am also not going to talk about the obvious cards like Pact of Negotiation, because these have been discussed to death elsewhere already, and I am sure I can't really add much news to the table.
What are we waiting for? Here we go!
Limited
The first card in the set is already one of the true Limited bombs the set has to offer. While there are a bunch of fine rares around that can win games once in a while, it seems to me that there really isn't a lot of sheer broken power in any slot, making this an awesome Limited set. This guy is just huge, coming out quick as a surprise, and it can even pull off some nifty combat-related tricks. On a card like this, though, you become painfully aware of how much worse damage prevention is, when compared to damage dealing...
The other reason I love this Limited format is that there is a whole batch of new Scry cards, cards that reward skill while reducing randomness at the same time. This card is by far the best, because for most part it's simply a stone better version of Careful Consideration, which is already a close to first pick in TTP draft. Sure, you can't stockpile lands to discard to it, but on the other hand you don't actually have to. If there are three spells and a land on top of your deck, you just leave one on top, and put the land on the bottom... To find this at the common slot is even more ridiculous, and I expect to pick this card very highly. The only way it is worse then Considerations is in a Madness deck...
... so it's pretty good news we got this guy for that deck. Looter Il-Kor is a very high pick in U/B madness already, and this guy is a lot more of the same. He costs more, deals less damage, but is also a lot less vulnerable and far more reliable. In a format that has become very hostile to one-toughness creatures, this dude might even be better then the Looter in most decks. And he is not even just good in madness, as he is perfectly awesome in other decks as well... just not a complete and utter bomb.
This guy is one of my favorite new cards in the set. Sure, he has one-toughness, and like I said this format is pretty unfriendly to guys of that stature, but if you ignore that drawback you have a creature that, head-to-head, compares to the best common guy in the format: Errant Ephemeron. They both Suspend for two mana, and they both kill your opponent by themselves nine turns after that. A great clock, and another great card in the already-awesome Suspend arsenal of Blue decks.
Other people have already written plenty about how nice this card is, and what a cute little utility package it offers. I agree, but I am also here to tell you that even though it is fine to play one or two copies of this guy, he isn't spectacular. He won't have an impact very often, and thus he shouldn't be picked high. The way it seems to work is that each time someone like Nick Eisel tells people that Card X is better than it looks, people tend to start picking it very high. Two mana to regenerate a skeleton is still a lot, and slow-motion discard isn't super-exciting. While the combination makes a perfectly fine guy, it doesn't make it a must-play.
This is the card I suspect will see most people play, while it really shouldn't make a deck outside of Mono-Black. It's pretty bad, as most of the time it'll do very little. I have seen this card across from me many a time already, as people tend to play it if they have it, but it hardly ever impacts the game (or even does anything worth doing). It is very situational, and situational cards are bad.
On the other hand, this is what I believe to be best common in the set. Not only is it efficient straight-up sorcery speed removal, it can also get you card advantage and an instant speed creature kill or combat trick. Add to that the fact that it also works wonders in madness decks and you have an all-star that will work in every Black deck you will ever draft. First pick it if you see it!
This card doesn't look like that much, and it is pretty hard to understand that what you are getting here is very close to a Cursed Scroll effect. Once this card is active and the board is relatively stalled, your opponent will have a very hard time playing extra guys ... I underestimated this card a great deal and thought it was merely fine removal, when in reality it is more like a bomb.
Gathan Raiders
Do you guys remember the days of Zombie Cutthroat dominating a Limited format by himself? Well, this guy is even better, as he's a potential 5/5 and madness outlet. This really isn't a Red card, as I have yet to see someone cast this guy face up. Everyone is talking about this card... mentioning how good it is, and telling you that you should first pick it... and they are right, you should. In every deck, and every color.
Flowstone Embrace / Bloodshot Trainee
Flowstone Embrace is a fine removal spell, killing two-toughness creatures for two mana... but it's also is an exciting combo with the Trainee! The Trainee, of course, isn't really playable by itself as a 2/3 for four mana with no actual abilities, but if you have some combo cards with it - like the Embrace, which you'd play regardless - it becomes playable, just in case you can get it to work. Another way (in this block) to get this guy started are Spikes, so if you happen to have a Spike Feeder... mise. Just make sure not to actually play cards that just work with the Trainee, as that is almost never worth the effort.
I love Nantuko Shaman, and this dude is much like him. He costs four and usually nets you card advantage. He also features the scry mechanic, about which I have already expressed my love. As such, he is an early favorite of mine in this set. What can I say? I am sucker for conditional card advantage on a guy! The best part is that you'll probably get this guy late... just like Citanul Woodreaders, for some reason.
Just like Tin Street Hooligan in the last set, you don't play this guy for its effect, but more because of the two power for two mana. But just like the Hooligan, if you do get to nuke something with it (this time not a Signet, but a Suspend guy)... wow, will that feel great! Any guy that can, by itself, make you feel like a winner sometimes is okay in my book. Not a very high pick, but capable of winning games early.
What kept Saprolings in check has always been the fact that they were hard to come by in this block. They could be used for almost anything, from drawing cards to killing guys, but short of an occasional Sprout, you would have to wait three turns to do it. That is why cards like Sporesower Thallid have been so sensational in Fungus decks: because they broke that rule. Well, this card does the same, and it does it very well. It is very slow outside of committed fungus decks, but in it this card is a true MVP because of the versatility you get from the tokens you make. This is a reason to start drafting Thallids.
Another way to flat out break the one-Saproling-every-three-turns rule, this guy is also absurd in Fungus decks. Unlike Sprout Swarm, and like Sporesower Thallid, this guy is also great in any Green deck basically because of his basic stats. This means that you will have to pick this guy a lot higher in your Fungus decks, and you can't really rely on getting many of them. A great creature nonetheless.
As far as two-drops go, this guy is way up there. Green is continuing the trend of piling abilities on its two drops to make them good, like they started with the Boa family, and this guy is just as good. He is not very aggressive though, as he can be killed by almost any creature, but he is great at being a defending MVP. An all-round good creature.
And that's it for cards that really jump out at me right now. Sure, there are plenty of stronger or weaker cards than the ones I've covered here, but you don't need me to tell you that a 5/5 for four mana is great, or that dragons are awesome in Limited... do you?
My rating for the colors for Future sight looks like this:
Blue
With the most scry effects, card advantage, and three-power evasion creatures, this color seems to have it all. It even
has its own Pacifism clone.
Red
With an arsenal of great removal once again, as well as having some great guys for a change (4/4 for five mana in
Red... wow), the color continues its dominance of the block.
Green
Adding great synergy to the cards that were already out there, the creature color keeps giving us just that - more great
creatures.
Black
Despite having the best common in the set, it lacks again from having close to zero playable creatures, making it
strictly support. It doesn't even have decent card advantage.
White
White really doesn't have much of anything. It doesn't have lots of removal, good guys, or great tricks. All
it has are some good rares.
On to Constructed!
Constructed
In Standard right now, it doesn't really matter if you can win a fight. All that really matters is how much damage one can deal, with all the control decks out there. That fact makes this guy an interesting drop for Constructed weenie beatdown.
When you have two of these, and a way to recur them (like Undertaker), you have a soft lock. It even protects itself a little by preventing damage to its parts, meaning you are okay against burn. On the other hand, shutting down sorceries isn't even that good right now, as the best decks thrive on instants. That means that while interesting, it just isn't good enough.
Wow, is this thing unreal! I don't think comparing this card to Remand is really fair, as they almost do the same thing. Delay is much better at actually fighting a spell, whereas Remand is better at getting you through your deck to find the important spell to give him some time. This means they don't really belong in the same decks... but some will rather have Delay, while others will rather have Remand.
I want to love this card so much - and in another time, I probably would - but as it is, Venser has one to many words on it. I am not sure which word it is, but I have a feeling this card would be very good if it was either not a legend, one mana cheaper, or slightly bigger, but as it is right now, the combination of all these problems means that Venser is probably not good enough at anything.
Another day, another Hyppie. Every time a guy likes this gets printed, people get excited and feel it is going to be pretty good. This guy's ability is very impressive, and the fact that you get to Coercion your opponent is very powerful... but so is random discard. Hypnotic Specter is not seeing play at all right now, which probably doesn't bode well for its youngest brother here.
It seems like right now Wizards simply has this idea of slipping in one of these in every set. The next in line of “completely wrecking Graveyard decks” is the Yixlid Jailer, and much like Withered Wretch and Extirpate in the last two sets, it will probably not be enough. It is still very potent, don't get me wrong, but it is so unexciting.... I guess we'll see if the need arises for another one of these.
Looking over the Red cards I couldn't really find anything really exciting for Constructed, so I am sticking to this guy, who in combination with three of his brothers can go from 4 to 8 to 16 to 32 and kill someone. Weird Harvest looks like the best way to get them all, but I am not sure if there is going to be a deck good enough to get this all to work. We'll see.
Another card that is getting much hype, and another card I don't really see deserving the praise. Sure, if you get him to work he could be fine at fighting removal spells and counters, but in reality he is just not that influential, and he'll usually just eat the first counter or Terror, so he'll draw you one card at most. Even Wrath gets you only one card, which just isn't worth the dorky body. It seems good in theory, but it doesn't look like it will ever work in practice.
This is a card that looks awesome, but will work in very little Green decks out there right now. It doesn't work with Elves or with other colors really (since that means non-basic lands) and there really isn't a deck out there that can support this guy. The past has shown that just being a 5/5 for four is not enough to build a deck around, which means this guy will probably not see any play.
Fellow StarCityGames.com writer Jamie Wakefield loves Scragnoth like no other, and this guy is just plain better at almost everything the uncounterable beast is good at. Can't be countered? Check, but also can't be responded to, which is better. Can't be targeted by Blue stuff? Check, but is also a threat versus other targeted effects, so better. A threat on itself? Check, but even bigger and nastier. It even offers protection against discard! We get all this, for the low cost of one extra mana. Jamie should be happy, this guy seems like it is definitely good enough to see play.
And that rounds up the stuff that I spotted!
Think I forgot something, skipped a major point somewhere, or that I'm flat-out wrong? Email me at JeroenRemie@gmail.com and I will get back to all of your questions next week.
See you guys then!
Jeroen.
PS: In case you guys were wondering... I - as my newfound positive me - like Future Sight as a set just fine, as it offers a little something for everyone, and refreshes the draft format a lot with skill intensive cards. Who says I hate everything? Tsk.
